Long road to tennis glory

Here are the pairings for the first two rounds of the South Jersey Group 1 girls tennis tournament. The field expands to 24 teams, with the top eight seeds drawing a bye. The new format makes for some interesting trips (ex.: Henry Hudson/Keyport at Lower Cape May, 120 miles; Dayton at Pennsville, 109 miles). “When the NJSIAA decided to go with a combined South/Central (sectional) we knew this was a possibility in terms of extensive travel,” Woodstown coach Jesse Stemberger said. In regards to his team’s seeding Stemberger said, “A little surprised we’re 3 to be honest. I thought 5 was the best case scenario but we’ll take the current alignment.”

TUESDAY’S MATCHES
(1) Pitman bye
(17) Bernards at (16) Highland Park
(24) New Egypt at (9) Roselle Park
(8) Middlesex bye
(5) Gateway bye
(21) Wildwood at (12) South River
(20) Glassboro at (13) Schalick, 2 p.m.
(4) Haddon Twp. bye
(3) Woodstown bye
(19) Henry Hudson/Keyport at (14) Lower Cape May
(22) Pt. Pleasant Beach at (11) Edison Magnet
(6) Metruchen bye
(7) Woodbridge Magnet
(23) Dayton at (10) Pennsville
(18) Shore at (15) Dunellen
(2) New Providence bye

OCT. 1 MATCHES
Bernards-Highland Park winner at Pitman
Roselle Park-New Egypt winner at Middlesex
Wildwood-South River winner at Gateway
Schalick-Glassboro winner at Haddon Twp.
Henry Hudson/Keyport-Lower Cape May winner at Woodstown
Edison Magnet-PP Beach winner at Metuchen
Pennsville-Dayton winner at Woodbridge Magnet
Dunellen-Shore winner at New Providence